They cuffed me, says Molly

Australian music guru Ian ``Molly'' Meldrum has laughed off a visa bungle which saw him handcuffed, detained and deported from the US.

Meldrum returned to Melbourne today after he was detained by immigration officials at Los Angeles airport for 12 hours before being put on the next plane home.

The latest in a string of Australian journalists refused entry for having the wrong or no visa since a major crackdown on border security by US authorities, Meldrum was in the country to interview Latin pop star Enrique Iglesias.

Landing back at Melbourne Airport today, Meldrum put the bungle down to ticking the wrong box on his visa waiver entry form.

He said he didn't have an I-visa, enabling him to work in America, but didn't think he needed one if his work was being paid for by an Australian company.

``Apparently the green waiver visa has changed somewhat and there's some small print on the paperwork which includes foreign journalists,'' Meldrum told reporters.

``Instead of ticking no, I ticked yes for business.''

Meldrum said his scheduled interview was still on and he would try to secure the appropriate visa today and return to LA tomorrow.

``I'll be very nervous as we enter LA airport.

I'll be thinking something else could not surely go wrong this time,'' he said.

Meldrum said the ordeal was surreal and scary, but he saw the humour in his predicament.

``I got handcuffed - (it's) research if I have to do a story on Michael Jackson, I guess,'' he said.

``I have a sense of humour and I saw the funny side of it.

''(I thought) `it's one of those things that can only happen to you, Molly', and this one did.''

Senior US Customs official Ana Hinojosa said Meldrum was a well-behaved detainee despite initially refusing offers of food.

``For the most part he was very compliant and very pleasant,'' she said.

``He indicated he was coming here representing foreign media and that he was coming to interview Enrique Iglesias.''

Officials discovered Meldrum's I-visa, needed by non-US journalists to work in America, had expired.

Immigration officials interviewed him and decided he should be deported back to Australia.

``He arrived around 11.20am and his case was completed about three hours later and then he was turned over to the Detention and Removal branch to await the departure of his outgoing flight later that night,'' Hinojosa said.

Meldrum would be welcome to return to the US when he obtained the appropriate visa, she said.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, who attempted to intervene on Meldrum's behalf, yesterday said Meldrum had been treated a bit too toughly.

Meldrum said he wasn't aware until he returned to Australia that Mr Downer had been on his case, however the Australian consular staff and the consulate in Los Angeles were fantastic.

He warned other Australians heading to America to read up on visa regulations.

``I suggest everyone reads that (waiver form) very, very carefully because you are waiving all rights once you sign that form to enter the United States,'' he said.

Mr Downer also warned Australians planning to enter the US to ensure they have the correct documentation before leaving Australia.

``The Australian government can't turn around decisions in America if you've got the wrong documentation,'' he told reporters in Los Angeles.

Meldrum's experience follows the deportation of New Idea magazine editor Sue Smethurst in November and TV presenter Ernie Dingo last February.